I will just put this out there: I am a sucker for a short ingredient list. The shorter the better. In this day in age of chemical tongue twister names that cover the entire backside of a 16 fl oz bottle, a short ingredient list is as refreshing as…peppermint! (Bad joke noted)

So let’s get straight into what is inside Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint “all in one” Bar Soap. If you didn’t already know, Dr. Bronner’s soaps are Castile based. Castile soap is an olive oil based soap made in a similar way to that made in the Castile region of Spain. For more info about Castile and what is so eco-friendly about it, check out “The Queen of Green” Lindsay Coulter’s article here. To my delight, there isn’t much else in Dr. Bronner’s version, and that’s a GREAT thing. The ingredients are as follows:

Organic Coconut Oil*, Organic Palm Oil*, Sodium Hydroxide**, Water, Mentha Arvensis*, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil*, Salt, Citric Acid, Tocopherol
* CERTIFIED FAIR TRADE INGREDIENTS
** None remains after saponifying oils into soap and glycerin

The packaging is made of 90% post-consumer recycled paper. Since Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps have been around since the 1940s, the simple retro font and eco-friendly wrapping materials points to a legacy of being “eco-chic” well before it was cool. In any case, you can smell the peppermint-y goodness right through the wrapper.  As for the bar itself, it is a neutral hued bar (no artificial dyes or colors used) in the traditional rectangular shape. “All-One!”  is embossed into the soap, although all of the writing disappears after the second or third use.

I was prepared to love this product. Natural, well-packaged and even better priced ($4.74 at Target), what is not to love? Well, the dry skin and the whiny husband. Let me elaborate on that last bit.

Sure, you get a substantial amount of lather and the peppermint scent is a great pick me up. The soap disintegrates quite a bit once you get it wet, but this isn’t really much of a problem if you have a soap dish that lets excess water through.

The real issue? Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Bar Soap left me a little too squeaky clean. My skin is already on the dry side, so this definitely did not suit my skin type. A little moisturizer later and I was fine, but based on the results from using this product on my body, I did not even attempt to wash my hair with it.

Unwilling to give up on Dr. B so easily, I decided to call in my favorite back-guinea pig: the husband. On a side-note, husband loves minty-scented anything, so this was easy to get him to use.  Unfortunately, he faced the same fate I did. He also complained until his next shower that his skin was dry but refused to put on moisturizer. Ugh, men.

A little disappointed, I consulted with the good consumers at Makeupalley and was suprised to see so many positive reviews for the Lavender version of this soap. I did read that Peppermint Oil can be drying depending on the formulation of the product, so that could be the culprit responsible for the dryness subsequent whining husband. If the product didn’t dry out my skin, I would most certainly repurchase.

In that case, before I write off Dr. Bronner’s and his Magic Soaps, I will have to try the Lavender version.

How about you, have you tried any of Dr. Bronner’s soaps? Do you have any favorite products? Any other Castile soaps you love? We would love to hear from you in the comments below!